Bruntwood Properties – Demolition of 45 Mosley Street, Manchester

Connell Brothers were appointed as demolition contractors for the demolition of 45 Mosley Street on behalf of Bruntwood. The building was the former Royal Bank of Scotland and was connected to a sister branch via a tunnel under Mosley Street. Adjacent to the building was a Barclays Bank and extensive redevelopment works were being carried out to a building at the rear.

The Metrolink Tramway runs in the main road to the front of the building. Due to the restrictive nature of the surrounding environment careful planning and liaison played a crucial role in the smooth running of the contract. This involved working closely with the City Council, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, and the stringent rules and regulations for contractors working adjacent to the Metrolink.

The building was fully scaffolded and enveloped with monaflex sheeting, with the rear elevation scaffolding being cantilevered out from the third floor due to loading restrictions on the structure. Erection of the scaffold to the front elevation required the isolation of power to the Metrolink and completion of each section of scaffold to enable the power to be restored each morning.

The building comprised 8 floors and 2 basement levels and was constructed from reinforced concrete. Asbestos removal and a substantial amount of soft strip was required prior to the main demolition. Asbestos removal was carried out by ARCA trained women. Soft stripping involved the creation of drop zones within the building, utilising the existing lift shafts. The demolition materials were then moved to the rear of the building to be removed from site. This activity was carefully co-ordinated to avoid having lorries parked in the rear and adjacent streets and to maintain a clear access for deliveries to the adjacent bank.

Once the soft strip and asbestos removal had been completed the top three floors were propped in a pre-designed sequence to enable excavators and skid steer loaders to be placed on the roof. This entailed the formulation of an accurate lifting plan and close liaison with the adjacent bank and building contractors to enable the road to the rear to be closed in order to site the crane. The excavators and skid steer loaders were then placed on the floor where they commenced with the demolition works. The debris was allowed to drop down the lift shafts for removal from site. The scaffold was progressively removed as the height of the building was reduced.

Once the building had been reduced to ground floor level larger excavators were brought to site to remove the ground floor and basement slabs. Investigation works were carried out to determine the size of the perimeter walls and the location of the column thickenings and capping beams that were to be retained to provide support to the excavation.

Once these had been identified the ground floor and upper basement slabs were removed.

A live sub-station was located within the basement to the rear of the building and this required careful hand separation as the basement works progressed. The tunnel leading under Mosley Street to the bank opposite was sealed and the entire basement surveyed prior to leaving site in order to accurately plot the position of the remaining structure.

The project was completed on time and without incident enabling the regeneration of the “New York Street” project to commence as scheduled.